Click Here A peek inside a data center
Oct 31, 2025
Shannon Wait, a former Google data center technician turned union organizer, shares her eye-opening journey from studying Egyptology to the realm of data centers. She vividly describes the sensory chaos and pressures of working within these high-tech facilities. A simple request for a water bottle cap spiraled into a significant labor dispute, leading to her posting about pay and conditions online, which resulted in her unexpected removal from the site. Shannon's transition to union organizing highlights the complex economic landscape of data center jobs and their impact on small-town communities.
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Big Tech's Local Promise Versus Reality
- Google built a large data center complex in Monk's Corner promising jobs and tax revenue, framing it as economic development.
- Shannon argues the reality is the digital economy still depends on physical labor performed by low-paid contractors.
Contracted Technician Reality
- Shannon Wait described starting work as a contracted data center technician and discovering she worked for Modus, not Google directly.
- She detailed repetitive, physical tasks like swapping drives and logging repairs minute-by-minute.
The Data Center's Physical Toll
- Shannon Wait painted the data center environment as otherworldly with a constant, loud hum and aisles requiring hearing protection.
- She emphasized the physical toll, saying technicians don't need a gym membership due to heavy lifting and repetitive labor.
